Preston Dene

Preston Dene

John Kinross designed this house in 1891 as a residence for the Factor of the Preston Hall estate. It is an irregular, single-storey, one-and-a-half and two-storey L-plan building that represents a fusion of Arts and Crafts, Queen Anne and 17th century Scottish architectural detailing. The structure comprises two main blocks and a single-storey extension, constructed from coursed sandstone rubble with ashlar long and short quoins, cills and lintels. The ground floor features an angled base course, and the building is distinguished by a shaped eaves course and skew gables with scrolled putts.

The principal south-east elevation is accessed via three ashlar steps with side walls leading to a central door. The doorway has an architraved surround supporting a projecting rectangular pediment with semi-circular detail above. Wide windows flank the entrance. A slightly projecting central cat-slide dormer with exposed rafters rises to the upper storey. The elevation is crowned by a heavy eaves course and features an ornamental brick stack with a stone base and three cans at the ridge, positioned centre-left. Heavy stone skews with scrolled putts mark each gable. The left return displays a window to each floor, while the adjoining right return contains a smaller gable with an inset rectangular stone bearing shield detail.

The north-east elevation presents a slightly projecting gable end to the left. The lower floor of this gable is blind, but an architraved window with a curved triangular pediment above leads to the gablehead, where a stack features architraved detailing and scrolled putts. A small window occupies the ground floor on the left return. The main block features centrally placed paired windows to both storeys, with the upper pair set within a catslide dormer roof displaying exposed rafters. A small square window and narrow window below appear to the far left. Paired windows occupy the first floor of the right return, with a door to the ground floor on the left. An adjoining single-storey block with an architraved arched doorway and projecting keystone extends to the right. This extension is distinguished by its eaves course with coped top course.

The north-west elevation comprises the gable end of the main house adjoining the single-storey platform-roofed extension that serves the ground floor. A pair of regularly spaced windows appears on the right (one modern), whilst the left return is blind. A modern stone and timber octagonal conservatory has been added to the right return.

The south-west elevation displays an L-shaped plan with a further gable in the re-entrant angle. The main house shows paired windows to the ground floor and small square windows to the upper right and mid-left. An advanced re-entrant gable serves as a stair tower, featuring a tall round-arched stair window with projecting margins, prominent keystone and architraved details. An oculus appears to the ground floor on the left return. The rear of the south-east elevation adjoins to the right return.

The windows throughout are notable for their unusual multi-pane glazing in timber sash and case construction: the main elevation of the ground floor displays 25 panes, the north-east gable has 15 panes, the side elevation features 20 panes with a heavy central timber mullion, whilst the rear contains 12-pane, 4-pane and oculus windows. The pitched slate roof of the main house displays bell-cast eaves detailing with lead ridging. The single-storey rear block is roofed with a piended slate roof. Painted cast-iron rainwater goods are throughout. High ashlar and brick moulded stacks, set with diamond patterning after the Old College in Glasgow and linked on pedestals, bridge to the centre of the roofs.

The interior retains decorative plasterwork and a well-proportioned timber staircase. Rooms have undergone modern reorganisation. An original set of service bells survives.

Adjacent to the main house stands a former office block, an irregular one-and-a-half storey structure of coursed and random rubble with ashlar long and short quoins, sills and lintels. A later iron lintel spans the garage openings, with some red brick infill. The north-east principal elevation contains a garage and store room with two-leaf timber doors (glazed at top) to the left. Adjacent to these is a former cart opening with an inset brick wall containing a timber and glazed door with paired windows to the right, and a further timber door on the right wall. A timber gabled dormer aligns to the upper storey, above which a pair of rectangular windows appears. A large timber hayloft entrance, supported by a rectangular plinth rising from the eaves, sits above the left window. A two-leaf door infill is present. The north-east return is blind, and a modern lean-to store has been added to the right return. Prominent timber barge boards define the gable. The windows are 12-pane timber sash and case. The slate roof displays bell-cast eaves, with painted cast-iron rainwater goods throughout. A high ashlar and brick moulded stack, bridge-linked on a pedestal, occupies the roof centre.

John Kinross (1855–1931) was well known for his book "The Details of Italian Buildings, Chiefly Renaissance" (1882) and had previously worked for Sir Henry Callander at Rosemains House. When built, the house was described as a "fine specimen of the more modern style of Elizabethan architecture." It represents a fusion of Arts and Crafts, Queen Anne and 17th century Scottish details, following earlier experiments by the architect such as The Red House. The house was exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1896 as simply a "farmhouse." The interior retains the decorative plasterwork for which Kinross was renowned. Servant accommodation was arranged on the upper level at the rear, with servants having access to their own staircase separate from the formal one reserved for the factor and his guests. The adjacent office block, designed concurrently with the house, served the factor's professional needs and may be considered a large and functional reincarnation of a Queen Anne lodge. Early residents included William McLennan and Peter McIntyre, factors at Prestonhall in 1895 and 1901 respectively. The house is centrally situated within the old Preston Hall estate, with nearby historic buildings including Preston Cottage, Red Row, Rose Mains, Remote and the east entrance to Prestonhall House.